Review Article

Capability of Tissue Stem Cells to Organize into Salivary Rudiments

Table 1

Acinar cell type of the major salivary glands.

Submandibular1SublingualParotidRef.

HumanPredominantly serous (~90%)Purely mucousPurely serous[4, 5]
MouseSeromucousMainly mucousPurely serous[6]
RatSeromucousMainly mucous (>90%)Purely serous[6ā€“9]

1The mucous cells in the submandibular glands of mice and rats exhibit sexual dimorphisms. For example, the percentage of mucous cells in SMG is 57.1% at 1 month and reaches 100% at 6 months in male rats, whereas that in the female rats is 60.0% and 28.5%, respectively. The frequency of mucous cells in SMG can be influenced by androgens [9].
In contrast, mucous acinar cell volumes of the human SMG comprise approximately 5ā€“10% of total acinar cells. The sex- and age-related differences in mucous acinar cell volume are not significant in humans [5].